The IEB introduced a Thinking Skills assessment available for learners at Grade 10 and 11 with the aim of encouraging a new pedagogy and classroom practice to meet the needs of learners in a society that is continually undergoing transformation. Learners need to be equipped with the skills to understand and manage themselves in an ever-changing and challenging world.

A primary objective of the Thinking Skills assessment is to assist schools to develop a measure of how they are helping learners to cope with the cognitive demands of the future and with tertiary studies. Key to this is getting learners to think for themselves and feel confident in their own abilities to solve unfamiliar problems. The current assessment focuses on thinking skills as an independent discipline concentrating on two key skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; while IEB subject-based assessment focuses on higher order thinking skills as an integral part of subject disciplines.

For the purposes of the IEB’s first phase of introducing an examination of higher order thinking, the assessment concentrates on two skills: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.

The IEB holds Thinking Skills workshops around the country, the purpose of which is to introduce schools to all matters pertaining to the ‘teaching’ and assessment of thinking skills.. The workshop sessions include: purpose and need of Higher Order Thinking Skills and secondly what do we mean by Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.

The IEB will continue to assess Thinking Skills and expand on the assessment design, as well as train teachers further to equip them with skills and knowledge in how to both teach thinking skills as an independent discipline and also as an integral part of all other subject disciplines.